Jon,

Your reviews are the only ones I've found that bother to mention the flex point of a shoe, something greatly important to me as a sufferer of Plantar Fasciitus.

Do you have any recommendations of shoes that have a good flex point (near the ball of the foot) but also are quite roomy in the toe box (I add cushioned orthotics)?

Thanks very much,

Andrew

I don't compete yet, just play casual matches at the community courts. I rotate 2 pairs (Adidas Barricade, Nike Vapor - latest issues) just to keep them from deteriorating too quickly. I find both to be awesome in terms of looks and performance. Should I use the Barricades for training and the Vapors for matches?

Well... seeing as your so interested, I remember I had a pair of lotto atp raptors 2's the speed ones that were silver. And they had a competition insole that was softer, and a training insole that was stiffer and more firm for practice.

j'espère que federer va se rattraper l'année prochaine

Even with expensive shoes the inlcuded insoles are cheap junk. I threw out the insoles from my Adidas Barricades and Prevails and replaced them with a custom footbed that offers much more arch support. Its not that expensive (check out tenniswarehouse's sister company runnerswarehouse) to do and it makes a huge difference in support and comfort.

So I saw another Jeff just posted so we threw on the last initial as well. I just wanted to say I loved your articles before I knew you were a shoe fanatic. Well I myself am a fellow shoe addict. My collection runs about 45 deep of shoes all well maitained. Keep up the great work.

in reality I wonder how this actually helps the shoe outside of feel?

Shoes, whether they be tennis/running/fitness need a solid 24 hours for the midsole to spring back to their normal state (albeit not visible to the naked eye) or it will lose its properties much quicker (typically seen by increased creasing,etc)

an insole for the most part is just the connection point and while a thicker one may feel a bit better its akin to having a 4g dampener absorb the shock of a 80g ball traveling at 70mph

I'm a little bit of a shoe geek as well, and have 2 pair, one that I use for my singles matches (the Air Zoom Oscillate reissue) and another for 2+hours of doubles (NB 782, well ventilated, snug, comfy) since I'm moving half as much but am on the court longer..if I'm playing 2x in the same day I make it a point to use each pair to keep the midsoles in good shape...

I am not a shoe geek and I only buy New Balance running sneakers.